Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=4/4/2003

TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT

TITLE=PALESTINIANS / IRAQ

NUMBER=5-53618

BYLINE=SONJA PACE

DATELINE=RAMALLAH

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Since the war in Iraq began, Palestinians have been glued to their television sets and radios to find out what is happening. Some have also turned out in frequent anti-war demonstrations to show their support for Iraq and their anger at the United States. V-O-A's Sonja Pace reports from the West Bank city of Ramallah that many Palestinians identify with the plight of the Iraqi people, and they are worried about how the war's outcome will affect their own future.

TEXT: /// SFX: TV NEWS JINGLE AND FADE UNDER ///

When Palestinians turn on the television news, the first thing they see is the war in Iraq -- images of airplanes dropping bombs, heavily armed coalition soldiers moving through the streets of Iraqi cities, marines kicking down doors, as they look for Iraqi fighters, and Iraqi women cradling injured children, dismayed by the devastation around them.

/// RUBBA ACT ///

We support the Iraqi people, because they are people like us. I don't think this is a war against Saddam - this is a war against civilians.

/// END ACT ///

Rubba teaches English at the university in Ramallah. She says Palestinians identify with what is happening in Iraq, because, she says, they suffer similar hardships.

Since the current Palestinian uprising began in September 2000, Israeli troops and tanks have moved in and out of Palestinian cities. After a string of suicide bomb attacks against Israelis last year, Israeli troops re-occupied most West Bank population centers. Israeli forces have hunted down Palestinian militants, sometimes killing civilians in the process. They have destroyed Palestinian homes, farms and roads, and have often imposed curfews on entire towns and villages. These measures are necessary, Israel says, to protect against terrorist attacks.

/// OPT // At present, curfews on most Palestinian areas have been lifted, although a travel ban remains in effect for Palestinians wishing to travel from the West Bank or Gaza Strip into Israel. /// END OPT ///

Ghassan Toubassi is a dentist in Ramallah. He and many Palestinians view the U-S-led war against Iraq as an unjustified invasion.

/// TOUBASSI ACT ///

There's no cause. It's an unfair war, without any cause. It's aggression.

/// END ACT ///

Dr. Toubassi and many Palestinians dismiss the reasons the United States cites for the Iraq war. An address Thursday by President Bush to Marines in North Carolina was carried live by Arabic television channels.

/// BUSH ACT ///

No crime of a dying regime will divert us from our mission. We will not stop until Iraq is free. (Applause. fade under)

/// END ACT ///

The American message of liberation does not resonate here. Many Palestinians say they believe that America wants to control Iraq's oil wealth and many, like Dr. Toubassi believe it is also about the U-S alliance with Israel.

/// 2ND TOUBASSI ACT WITH REPORTER ///

TOUBASSI: I think it's forbidden for any country in the Middle East to achieve a certain level of education, of civilization that may threaten Israel in the future.

PACE: So, there is a link in your mind between what's happening in Iraq and Israel?

TOUBASSI: Certainly, certainly.

/// END ACT ///

The U-S government rejects such allegations, and Israeli leaders have made it a point to say that Israel is not involved in this war. At the same time, Israeli officials have voiced strong support publicly for the U-S-led war, which they have described as a major thrust against terrorism.

The Bush administration has said it will soon focus its attention on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and reveal the so-called roadmap -- a step-by-step plan drawn up by the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, designed to lead to a final Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement and an independent Palestinian state.

Again, Palestinians are skeptical. Professor Ali Jarbawi, a political scientist at Ramallah's Birzeit University, says Palestinians are angry and disappointed.

/// JARBAWI ACT ///

Palestinians feel angry and sad at the same time -- sad about what's happening to the Iraqi people, and angry because we see the American might against Iraq, and we don't see any movement on the Palestinian front.

/// END ACT ///

Professor Jarbawi says Palestinians do not believe that the United States is willing to pressure Israel to compromise. He says Palestinians now want deeds and not just words.

/// OPT TO END ///

/// 2ND JARBAWI ACT ///

Maybe we are weak, but we're not stupid. We know that nothing is going to come out of this (Eds. Bush) administration. . This map is an American map. It was put forward on the table, and, under Israeli pressure, it was withdrawn; and since then, it was postponed. We're not very happy about this map, but we've accepted it, and we are waiting not only for words, but for the deeds.

/// END ACT ///

American officials have said the roadmap would be made public once the new Palestinian prime minister-designate, Mahmoud Abbas, forms his government. And that could be within a matter of days. (Signed)

NEB/SP/KL/TW/FC